Dakota Mace Weaving Diné Art

Dakota Mace is a graduate student in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a 2017 recipient of the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship. She shares her work and philosophy.

Dakota discusses her artwork with WARP members in Oaxaca.

Dakota’s work “speaks about the dialogue between traditional vs. fine art and the way that the western world continues to perceive Diné weaving as utilitarian objects and not works of art. I have approached this conversation by subtly introducing western forms of weaving in combination with Diné beliefs. By doing so, I am creating an entirely new concept that translates the language of Diné weaving through the understanding of the fine art world. This serves not only as a different approach of cultural reclamation and preservation but also the importance of the meanings of the motifs used in my weaving.”

She says, “as an artist I feel that in order to understand a cultural history you must do so through design. I’ve focused on researching other artistic mediums that have a unique cultural narrative in relation to my own Diné culture. This includes paper-making, beadwork, digital weaving, quill-work and many other techniques. I continue to look to other cultures as forms of inspiration and teaching others about the importance of cultural appropriation in relation to Native American design.

Q. Do you think creating connected textile communities is important and why?

A. I think that one of the most important parts of connected textile communities is the relationships that it creates. Growing up in a craft based family, it was understood that to pass on the knowledge of my families craft we needed the interest of a younger generation. With that in mind, it is also very important to distinguish the idea of teaching others and passing on traditional knowledge. I have been fortunate to learn from various communities as well as cultures and I’ve come to realize that Indigenous communities are well aware of these practices. There is a need to create connected textiles communities for the sake of keeping the arts alive but there also needs to be an understanding that not everything about the medium will be fully discussed. I fully support connected textile communities and the amount of effort that goes into them and the understanding that there are still groups of people that have a very vibrant history to share others.

Q. What has drawn you to WARP?

A. What drew me to WARP was the fact that it wanted to connect communities with other textile enthusiasts. I support that idea of wanting to create bridges for future communities as well as continuing textiles traditions. I was fortunate to meet many amazing individuals through WARP and happy to continue my support!

Special thanks to Dakota for taking time and sharing with us. More Dakota at http://www.dakotamace.com/

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